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Thursday, 30 October 2014

There's a great challenge this week at Merry Monday - to use snowflakes, dry embossing and neutral colours.

A while ago I received the IndigoBlu 'Frosted Baubles' stamp as a gift and I hadn't used it - this challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to get the stamp inked up! I stamped the image and inked the edges using Crumb Cake ink and I stamped the sentiment in Soft Suede ink. I embossed a piece of Crumb Cake CS with a snowflake folder and added white pigment ink over the embossing using a sponge dauber - I loved how that looked on LeAnne's card so I nabbed that idea! I added a strip of Soft Suede CS and glued my panel to the front of a 5 1/4" square white card base. To complete the card front I sprinkled on a few rhinestones.

Here's the inside and the envelope front. I love a kraft, white and red combo for Christmas cards but I don't recall ever making just a kraft and white Christmas card so I was interested to see how that would turn out - and I really liked it!

Monday, 27 October 2014

Angela and Janet are coming round tomorrow to make a Christmas card and I decided I'd show them how to make a floating front card. I was given a Sizzix snowflake die and embossing folder set a few months ago and it occurred to me the large snowflake would make a good floating front card element.

I cut a piece of Core'dinations CS, die cut and embossed the snowflake, scuffed the shape with sandpaper to bring out the embossed detail and glued a Night of Navy circle behind the snowflake shape. I cut a piece of Whisper White CS to 11" x 5 1/2" and scored at 2 3/4", 5 1/2" and 8 1/4" to make the card base. I cut some pieces of Authentique blue patterned paper which has a lovely ombre, graduated colour effect and adhered the paper pieces to three of the card base panels. I glued the snowflake to floating hinges (punched circles folded in half), placed a 3/4" navy circle in the centre of the snowflake and added the fancy embellishment. To complete the card front I added four Night of Navy die cut photo corners.

For the back of the card I stamped a sentiment, added some punched snowflakes and made a punched circle and slit closure. I simply stamped a snowflake border on the front of the envelope. Full instructions for making a floating front card can be found on my Tutorials page HERE.

Friday, 24 October 2014

Some new SU! goodies were delivered to me a few days ago and amongst them was a pack of Whisper White note cards and envelopes. I find SU! Whisper White CS a bit flimsy to use for card bases but the note cards are made from thicker Whisper White CS which is fab! The note cards measure 5" x 3 1/2" so are able to go through the mail and I think they'd be wonderful to use for gift sets.

I recently stood down from the 52 {C}CT design team but I decided to join in as a player for the current recipe challenge to make a one layer card. I so rarely make a one layer card as they have to be perfect - there's nowhere to hide any boo boos! However, I'm really enjoying creating inky scenes and I think they look great on a one layer card so I gave it a go.

Yeah, not really a great choice - an 'inky' scene, my first attempt had to be abandoned due to unsightly ink smudges but attempt number two was successful! I die cut a rectangle from a panel of CS and used that as a reverse mask. I applied Tumbled Glass Distress Ink using an ink duster brush to the rectangle first, temporarily adhered a 1" punched circle as a moon mask, dusted more Tumbled Glass ink and followed with Faded Jeans and Dusty Concord inks. I removed the moon mask and dusted more ink over the moon to give a cloudy look. I used Post-It notes to mask the outside of the rectangle and stamped the pine trees. While the Post-It notes were still in place I applied some snowy droplets by dipping a paintbrush into a bottle of Perfect Pearls mist and flicking the paintbrush over the rectangle. A stamped sentiment completed the card front.

I dusted more inks on the inside of the card and on the envelope front, stamped a sentiment and stamped more pine trees to finish.

Wednesday, 22 October 2014

The Inkspirational 67 Challenge caught my attention the other day while I was web surfing, it's a purple with grey/silver colour challenge. I love purple and silver together on a card but I think I've only ever used the combo for Christmas cards so I resolved to make a non Christmas card with the colours.

Stencils are popular in card making at the moment and I'm having fun using them. Actually, I enjoyed using them many moons ago when they were the in thing for home decor! I stencilled three walls of my neighbour's bathroom and I decorated loads of bits and pieces and small furniture items for our home - I still have a couple of pieces!

For this card I used a Meadow Flower stencil, Memento inks and Sparkle Medium embossing paste. I used low tack tape to mask areas of the stencil and I stippled Memento London Fog and Grape Jelly inks through the stencil using ink duster brushes. I removed the stencil, heat set the inks by blasting the panel with my heat tool and carefully repositioned the stencil. I then applied Diamond Sparkle Medium embossing paste and allowed that to dry - because the glitter in the Diamond paste is suspended in a clear gel the colour shows through the sparkle. I made a 5 3/4" card from SU! Elegant Eggplant CS and added the stencilled panel plus white and silver striped paper to a mat layer of silver mirri CS. I attached the die cut and dry embossed ribbon and bow and added the sentiment element. I punched two Eggplant flowers and placed those on the silver mirri CS label and I added a rhinestone to the centre of each flower. A Small Circle Dazzler embellishment on the bow completed the card front.

Here's the inside and the envelope. I may add a sentiment inside at a later date when I know what occasion I'll be using the card for.

Tuesday, 21 October 2014

Our wonderful friend Gill is celebrating her birthday today and I made a floating front card for her. I've used feminine, lacy paper and a blue and aqua colour combo as I know those will go down well!

The Island Indigo card base measures 5 3/4" square. I stamped the largest flower in Island Indigo ink, the smaller flower in Pool Party ink and I used Pear Pizzazz and Old Olive inks for the leaves. After I'd finished die cutting I adhered the flowers and leaves together so it formed one element and I stamped and die cut the sentiment element. I attached both elements to butterfly hinges (punched circles folded in half) so the elements float when the card is open on display. I added white ribbon and a bow, two butterflies and placed a sparkly embellishment in the centre of the flower. I punched and shaped two tiny flowers and placed them over the 'oo' in the word 'blooming' - I thought that was a fun touch! To complete the card front I sprinkled on some rhinestones.

If you'd like to make a floating front card yourself, I have instructions on my Tutorials page HERE.

This photo shows the back of the card with the sentiment panel and the punched circle and slit closure.

These fab floating front cards fold flat to go in an envelope - I love that! Here's the card ready to be slipped inside the envelope.

I used the SU! Envelope Punch Board to make a 6" x 6" envelope with the beautiful, lacy paper and simply added a name label to the envelope front.

Monday, 20 October 2014

This lovely Christmas card made by Maree Streeter really caught my eye when I saw it on Pinterest and I saved it to my 'Cards to CASE' board. I love the mix of the Hardwood stamp with the winter foliage, the square aperture and the fact that the card has a wow design, but being flat, is perfect for posting. Maree used the new SU! 'Ornamental Pine' set for her card but my trusty, long retired 'Peaceful Wishes' set was a good alternative!

I stamped the Hardwood stamp onto a panel of Soft Sky CS using Smoky Slate ink, inked the edges with Smoky Slate ink and glued the panel to a Soft Sky A6 sized card base. I cut out the square aperture, inked the edges, stamped the sentiment in Early Espresso ink and added three punched snowflakes cut from Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper.

Here's the inside of the card. I cut a panel of white CS, placed my mountain/valley plastic stencil down, dusted Summer Sky ink at the top and stamped the foliage, pine cones and sentiment. I inked the edges of the panel with Smoky Slate ink and glued it to the inside of the card. Lastly, I applied Star Dust Stickles to the foliage and pine cones for that all important seasonal sparkle!

I used stamps and punches to make the circle element to decorate the envelope flap.

Thursday, 16 October 2014

Addicted to Stamps and More have a 'Make Your Mark' challenge running this week which was the perfect nudge for me to use a new technique I learned from the amazing Alison at the Glitter Pot, my local craft shop. Using alcohol based markers, colours are applied through a stencil and then Diamond Sparkle Medium paste is applied over the top of the stencil. Because the Diamond paste is translucent the colour shows through the sparkle. Colour can also be added by applying inks through the stencil - but the inks MUST be dry before the paste is applied or the colours will run and discolour the paste. Using alcohol markers which dry quickly means you can apply the paste straight away. It took me a while to find the 'right' CS to use, with some CS I found I had issues with colours from the markers bleeding under the stencil so I wasn't getting a crisp, defined design. A thick, smooth, white CS provided the best results for me.

I taped the Christmas Holly stencil down, coloured the design using Marsh Green, Ruby and Gold ProMarkers, applied the Diamond Sparkle Medium paste and then impatiently waited for that to dry! Once dry the marker colours appear muted and softened due to the paste being translucent. I trimmed the stencilled panel to size, layered onto a red mat and added a brad to each corner. I stamped and punched the sentiment circle element and popped that up.

I used punches to add holly decorations inside and on the envelope to complete the card.

Wednesday, 15 October 2014

The wonderful 'Silent Night' challenge at Merry Monday this week gave me the perfect opportunity to get busy with my ink duster brushes again, I could definitely do with snow scene practise! Silent Night made me think of a moonlit snow scene and that perfect hush and stillness that happens after snowfall.

I've made a 5 1/4" square easel card using SU! Night of Navy CS. The patterned paper on the bottom of the card is from a 6" x 6" paper pad called - very appropriately - 'Silent Night'. It's hard to tell from the photo but the paper has a gorgeous silver foiled pattern. To make my sky I positioned my mountain/valley stencil so it masked the bottom portion of the white panel and I dusted Tumbled Glass Distress Ink first. I then applied a 1 1/2" punched circle as a moon mask and I dusted more Tumbled Glass ink, followed by Broken China, Faded Jeans and Dusty Concord inks.

I moved the stencil down and and dusted Tumbled Glass ink along the top edge of the stencil and repeated that further down the panel to make my snow banks. I then stamped the pine trees - using full strength Night of Navy ink for the larger trees and second generation stamping for the smaller trees in the background. I stamped the sentiment and birds and edged the panel with Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans inks applied with sponge daubers. I added some Star Dust Stickles to the snow banks and the largest tree and once that was dry I matted onto a Night of Navy panel followed by a Silver Glimmer Paper panel. I glued that in place and popped up the pine trees circle element to act as the easel stop.

Here's a closer peek at the scene panel where you can see the sparkle.

Here's the bottom of the card with a sentiment panel and the stamped and inked envelope front.

Monday, 13 October 2014

I want to take part in more of the many challenges around blogland and I'm entering this card at the Addicted to Stamps and More #116 Anything Goes challenge. I've been having enormous fun playing with inks and ink duster brushes to create scenes after discovering Sally Holmes who creates the most wonderful scenes. I've watched Sally's videos a few times to pick up tips and techniques and have spent ages looking at cards on her blog. This card is based on the card Sally featured on her blog post HERE. I love the fact that you can achieve a lovely inked scene using just three colours of ink plus black!

Memento Dandelion, Bahama Blue and Rose Bud inks were dusted onto a piece of Whisper White CS using ink duster brushes. A 1 3/4" circle punch created the sun mask and I used the Inkylicious mountain/valley stencil with Tuxedo Black ink to create the hills. I stamped the foliage silhouettes and the birds in black ink to complete the scene panel. I made a black 5 3/4" square card base, cut off some of the front of the card and glued a panel of Very Vanilla CS inside the card. I layered the scene panel onto a mat of pink paper and adhered that to the card front.

Here's the card open with just the front of the card visible.

Here's the inside of the card and the envelope. I added a die cut bitty bow to the strip of dotty pink paper and placed a gem in the centre of the bow. This card is going to a friend who is going through a very rough time at the moment and I think the sentiment is very appropriate. I decorated the front of the envelope with the pink dotty paper and a name label to complete the card.

Floating front cards are my current fave style of card to make - I love that they're dimensional but fold flat to go in an envelope and that they're easy to make. If you fancy trying a floating front card yourself there are instructions on my Tutorials page HERE.

I chose the blue, aqua and magenta colours for my card. The card base is made from Coastal Cabana CS and I covered three panels with Whisper White CS dry embossed with a polka dots folder. I layered three stamped and die cut snowflakes together to create a floating front element and I attached that to the card by gluing the snowflake to butterfly hinges I made from punched circles folded in half. I die cut two Coastal Cabana scallop edged borders, glued them to the card and added white punched snowflakes. I added coloured rhinestones to the snowflakes - the aqua ones I had in my stash but I used Sharpie markers to add colour to clear rhinestones to get the deep blue and magenta gems. To complete the card front I added some clear rhinestones to the arms of the large blue snowflake.

Here's a view of the card from the top.

Here's a view of the butterfly hinges which allow the image to float when the card is on display but allow the card to be folded flat to go in an envelope. I used a 1" circle folded in half. I applied glue to the front tabs of the hinges and pressed the snowflake floating front element down onto the hinge tabs.

Here's the back of the card where you can see the sentiment panel and the closure made with a punched circle and a cut slit.

Here's the card folded flat with the envelope. My finished card measures 5 3/4" square and I used a 6 1/4" square envelope.

Putting this card together reminded me of a favourite Laura Ashley shirt I owned back in the 80's - one of those long oversized shirts with the shoulder pads - it had a magenta background and large royal blue and paler blue flowers and jade green leaves - I REALLY loved that shirt - and the bright pink suede pixie boots I most probably wore with the shirt, ah, happy times!

I hope you'll play along with this fun colour challenge and add a Christmas card to your stash. Link up your colourful Christmas creation at the 52 {C}CT challenge post, I look forward to seeing what you make!

This is my last card for 52 {C}CT as I'm stepping down from the DT after this challenge. I joined in June 2012 and I've enjoyed creating many festive cards over that time - huge thanks to the lovely ladies at 52 {C}CT who made it fun!

Thursday, 9 October 2014

I saw this gorgeous card made by Mikaela Titheredge on Pinterest and just had to CASE it and make my own version. I loved the cut off card front with the flowers going over the edge and I loved the colours and clean, fresh look too.

I made a Bermuda Bay A6 sized card and cut off some of the card front. I glued a white panel inside the card and glued a white panel that I'd embossed with the honeycomb folder to the card front. Using Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Pistachio Pudding and Pear Pizzazz inks I stamped and die cut the flowers and leaves. I assembled the floral arrangement and adhered it to the card front - the Bermuda Bay flower is popped up and I added a Bermuda Bay Candy Dot to the centre of the smallest flower. I stamped the sentiment and tiny dotty flowers inside the card, added the Bermuda Bay ribbon and sprinkled a few silver sequins on the honeycomb panel. I loved that sweet little dotty stamp in the Flower Patch set but, sadly, I was careless and lost it during the cleaning process. I've searched everywhere and I feel it's gone for good : (

Here's a photo of the card showing just the front panel when the card is open.

Here's the envelope with a stem and flower decorating the flap. A bright and breezy little number, a very happy card to make!

About Me

Hello, I'm Ruth Muzeen and I live with my hubby Owen and our cat Tingha in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.
Thanks for visiting to look at my creations, please click on a card photo in any blog post to get a larger view. I have categorised albums of my cards available to view on Google Photos. Just click on the category name to go to the relevant album. Please do leave any comments you have, it will be so nice to hear from you! For more info, please see the About Me - Extended tab up at the top.